American
cartoonists and writers may not have invented the comic strip, but some
argue that the comics, as we know them today, are an American creation.
Clearly, the United States has played an outsize role in the
development of this underappreciated art form.
3.29.1915: W. W. Denslow dies. The famed illustrator, who worked with author L. Frank Baum to illustrate The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, also created the comic strip Billy Bounce, in 1901. It was one of the earliest strips in which the protagonist had superpowers.
3.29.1981: Gene Ahern's Our Boarding House, which debuted in 1921, discontinues its Sunday strip. The daily feature survived until 1984. Set in Mrs. Hoople's boarding house, the comic found humor in her grandiose husband's interactions with the residents and other people.
3.29.1983: Alfred Andriola, the artist on Kerry Drake, dies at 70 in New York City. Launched in 1943, the detective comic ran for four decades.
3.29.1987: Bob Weber Jr. unveils Slylock Fox & Comics for Kids, a strip for young children featuring logic puzzles and starring an anthropomorphic fox detective.
3.29.1987: What a Guy! debuts, Created by Bill Hoest and Bunny Hoest, the comic featured a young boy who questions life's complexities and repeats adult concepts overheard from his parents. The strip ended in 1996.
3.29.1981: Gene Ahern's Our Boarding House, which debuted in 1921, discontinues its Sunday strip. The daily feature survived until 1984. Set in Mrs. Hoople's boarding house, the comic found humor in her grandiose husband's interactions with the residents and other people.
3.29.1983: Alfred Andriola, the artist on Kerry Drake, dies at 70 in New York City. Launched in 1943, the detective comic ran for four decades.
3.29.1987: Bob Weber Jr. unveils Slylock Fox & Comics for Kids, a strip for young children featuring logic puzzles and starring an anthropomorphic fox detective.
3.29.1987: What a Guy! debuts, Created by Bill Hoest and Bunny Hoest, the comic featured a young boy who questions life's complexities and repeats adult concepts overheard from his parents. The strip ended in 1996.
3.29.2011: Ivan Brunetti, a cartoonist and scholar of comics, releases a book entitled Cartooning: Philosophy and Practice.
Most of the information listed here from one day to the next comes from two online sites -- Wikipedia, and Don Markstein's Toonopedia -- as well as 100 Years of American Newspaper Comics, edited by Maurice Horn. Note that my focus is on American newspaper comic strips (and the occasional foreign strip that gained popularity in the United States). Thus, comic books and exclusively online comics are not included here.
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| Kerry Drake |
Most of the information listed here from one day to the next comes from two online sites -- Wikipedia, and Don Markstein's Toonopedia -- as well as 100 Years of American Newspaper Comics, edited by Maurice Horn. Note that my focus is on American newspaper comic strips (and the occasional foreign strip that gained popularity in the United States). Thus, comic books and exclusively online comics are not included here.
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